Project Description

These Lidar-derived topography maps were produced as a collaborative effort between the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Florida Integrated Science Center (FISC)St. Petersburg, Florida, the National Park Service (NPS) Gulf Coast Network, Inventory and Monitoring Program, and the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA) Wallops Flight Facility. One objective of this
research is to create techniques to survey coral reefs and barrier
islands for the purposes of geomorphic change studies, habitat mapping,
ecological monitoring, change detection, and event assessment. As part
of this project, data from an innovative instrument under development
at the NASA
Wallops Flight Facility, the NASA
Experimental Airborne Advanced Research Lidar(EAARL)
are being used. This sensor has the potential to make significant
contributions in this realm for measuring
subaerial and submarine topography wthin cross-environment surveys.
High spectral resolution, water-column correction, and low costs were
found to be key factors in providing accurate and affordable imagery to
costal resource managers.